Parliament passed the landmark legislation on Thursday, July 30, under a certificate of urgency, repealing the outdated Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 1984 (PNDCL 81), and delivering on a long-standing government pledge to codify farmer welfare in law. The Bill will now be transmitted to the President for executive assent, after which the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Finance and COCOBOD will publish operational guidelines for its rollout.
The 70 per cent FOB floor is the centrepiece of the legislation, establishing a legally enforceable minimum share of export earnings for the country’s approximately 800,000 cocoa farming households. Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, who presented the Bill, told Parliament that the mov would protect farmers from arbitrary cuts and political expediency. “We should go further to legislate this so that it becomes very binding for nobody to get up tomorrow and say, ‘oh, we say 70% but today we are doing 60%,'” he said.
The Bill strengthens the Producer Price Review Committee and provides a clear statutory framework for determining producer prices, ensuring transparency and predictability in the annual pricing process that directly affects millions of Ghanaians.
Domestic funding to end syndicated loan dependence
For 32 years, COCOBOD financed cocoa purchases through foreign syndicated loans until Ghana’s debt restructuring cut off access to that traditional source of funding. The new law empowers the board to raise funds locally via commercial paper and other domestic financing instruments, drawing on capital from pension funds, commercial banks, and private sector actors within the cocoa value chain. The buyer-led funding model that had been used in the interim, Mr Ampem said, had “proven to be unsustainable”, making the new domestic framework essential for securing the sector’s financial future.
50% local processing mandate to drive industrialisation
A key provision requires that at least half of Ghana’s annual cocoa output be processed domestically. Previously, forward-sale contracts using beans as collateral left local processing companies starved of supply, undermining the government’s industrialisation agenda. The mandate is expected to create thousands of jobs, add significant value to raw beans, and reduce Ghana’s exposure to volatile raw commodity prices on the international market.
“Because COCOBOD was using the beans as collateral and engaging in forward-sale contracts, it was practically impossible for the board to have beans available for our local processing companies,” Mr Ampem explained. “The Bill is saying that at least 50% of our cocoa produced should be processed locally to add value and to create jobs for our people.”
Cocoa farms declared protected lands
The Bill designates every cocoa farm as a protected area, giving the state legal teeth to prosecute illegal miners who destroy plantations. “We all know the debilitating effect of galamsey on our cocoa farms today,” Mr Ampem stated. “So the Bill is designating every cocoa farm as a protected land so that we can protect our cocoa farms.” The law introduces stiffer punitive custodial sentences for individuals caught smuggling cocoa beans to neighbouring countries or destroying established cocoa farms for illegal mining operations — a response to the devastating impact of illegal mining on the sector.
Enhanced oversight and social protection
The new law addresses long-standing public concerns regarding institutional overhead costs and management of the cocoa syndicated loan facility. COCOBOD is now legally mandated to present regular, audited financial statements directly to Parliament. An independent oversight committee will monitor the distribution of critical agricultural inputs, such as fertilisers, seedlings and specialised equipment, to eradicate political favouritism and supply chain leakages.
The Bill formally places COCOBOD under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, giving legal effect to the government’s March 2025 policy directive transferring oversight from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. It also establishes a Dispute Resolution Committee and a Cocoa Board Tribunal to adjudicate disputes relating to licences and other regulated activities within the sector.
For the first time, the legislation establishes a contributory Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme and an Educational Trust Scheme to provide social protection for cocoa farmers and educational support for their children. The Bill enhances the existing COCOBOD scholarship scheme, with greater emphasis placed on programmes that contribute directly to the growth of the cocoa sector, including agronomy, soil science and related agricultural fields.
Bipartisan support despite fast-track objections
The Bill received solid bipartisan support from both the Majority and Minority caucuses, who unified around the urgent need to protect Ghana’s agricultural backbone. Lawmakers noted that the previous 1984 framework lacked the flexibility required to navigate modern international trade standards and sustainable farming regulations, such as the European Union’s strict anti-deforestation laws.
However, the Minority opposed the decision to fast-track the legislation, arguing that the Bill required broader stakeholder consultation and more detailed scrutiny before passage. They maintained that Parliament had been presented with a fresh draft Bill despite extensive work on an earlier version laid in 2025.
Defending the urgency, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga told the House that many of the proposed amendments had already been thoroughly examined during a joint consideration involving the Finance, Economy and Agriculture Committees. He said concerns raised by stakeholders had been incorporated into the revised draft before it was presented to Parliament.
The passage of the Bill forms part of the government’s broader efforts to modernise Ghana’s cocoa industry, strengthen farmer welfare and improve the sector’s competitiveness and sustainability. For Ghana’s cocoa farmers, the new law represents a historic shift from discretionary promises to legally enforceable rights — a transformation that could redefine the country’s agricultural landscape for generations to come.
